03/25/2022
It is officially spring, so we can start to get serious about our gardens and landscapes. But this is also the time we enjoy the annual, northward migration of hummingbirds.
That means we need to start thinking about plants that will attract hummingbirds to our landscapes!
Every spring, I get asked what kinds of plants a person should grow to attract these visitors to the garden. Flower shape is important, and by far, plants with tubular flowers are most important. Tubular flowers have the characteristic of being able to hold quite a bit of nectar.
Here are some of my favorite plants with tubular flowers that attract hummingbirds to my landscape. These will also work for your Mississippi gardens.
🔸Lantana produces clusters of small, individual flowers that hummingbirds absolutely love. It is available in a wide variety of color combinations that will look great in your landscape.
🔸Salvia is also a hummingbird magnet, and it has the distinction of being one of my garden landscape must-haves. Both the annual and perennial salvia selections have a wide range of tubular flowers that hummingbirds love.
The big flower heads of 🔸pentas have the power to draw hummingbirds to your yard. Clusters of small, individual, five-petal flowers cover these plants all summer long.
Probably my all-time favorite -- but really, aren’t they all my favorites? -- has to be 🔸Vermillionaire cuphea. This Mississippi Medallion winner produces abundant, fiery-hot yellow, red and orange tubular flowers all over the entire plant, making a mound of blooms all summer long. Hummingbirds love them.
You can read my entire SG column here: http://ow.ly/Xe5Q50IpuMp
